5 Ways to be Sustainable as a Student on a Budget

As students, we may overlook the practicality of incorporating sustainability into our lives. Whether it be for monetary, logistical reason, or even as something we’ll do once we’re older. However, as a fellow student, who loves sustainability, there are ways to increase our sustainability as students on a budget. Here are just my top 5 easiest ways to increase your sustainability.

Mindful consumption (my personal favourite!)

First and foremost, if you take anything from this article, I want it to be mindful consumption. In our consumerist society, this is one of the easiest ways to increase your sustainability (while also decreasing your spending!). As you’ve probably heard ‘there is no ethical consumption under capitalism’, so where to start is consuming what you absolutely need and reusing what you can. This is both the easiest way to start your sustainability journey and the cheapest.

My favourite way to be a mindful consumer is to implement No Buys (or Low Buys). No Buys are periods of time where you don’t buy products unless you absolutely need it. This decreases impulse purchases and forces you to use up what you already have. Usually this is something I find students on a budget implement without realizing it but being conscious of why you’re not buying something, whether it be on a designated list or not, is a very powerful skill. A few years back, I introduced No buys into my consumption habits. I started with 1 month of not buying my main impulse buys and only buying what products I emptied or absolutely needed. Then I challenged myself with a whole semester while increasing my No Buy list to include even the little things, and later to a full year.

Reuse

The next is to reuse as much as you can to decrease your single use waste, especially non recyclable materials! The easiest ways to start is to incorporate this in your life is to start with grocery/ shopping bags. Since they typically cost money, just keeping and extra tote bag or two rolled up in your daily bag will save you money in the long run, while also saving the planet. If you’re like me and maybe tend to forget a time or two, then yeah buy a plastic one for convenience, but reuse it until you physically can’t.

This also goes for coffee cups! Think to switch takeaway disposable cups to either bringing your own reusable travel mug or sitting in to drink your coffee if they have reusable coffee mug. Sometimes when you bring your own mug, they give you a discount!

Reusable water bottles are a great switch as well. Disposable water bottles tend to be expensive, so reusable water bottles with a one-time cost do save money in the long term. At uni, another option is to ask the café for a water cup, and they will give you a reusable cup to return to them after.

Recycle

If you can’t reuse, recycle whenever possible. While it’s better long term to decrease consumption and reuse, recycling is the next best thing when you don’t have the option to not use. Think: the coffee cups at Uni, a paper print-out your professor may hand you, or if you must buy a single use plastic bottle. The most important part is knowing what is recyclable. In our uni, one of the biggest issues is waste contamination from people not knowing what’s recyclable. While you should google what is recyclable in your area, the UK government has you covered for many items. If you haven’t noticed before, on the label of many single use items sold in the UK, are designated symbols telling you what is recyclable/ how to properly dispose of the product.

Clothes

As students, we may not have the budget to get clothes anywhere but fast fashion  shops, that’s why charity shops (not vintage shops!!) and second-hand websites are the best options. You may not find the exact thing you are looking for, but if you have time, you can get very close and develop your personal style in the process. There are many to look at, especially on Chiswick + Hammersmith High Street, but my personal favourite is TRAID in Hammersmith.

Public Transport

Next, one of the best advantages of living in London, is public transport. You have access to the Tube, overground, buses, and endless rentable bikes! Taking advantage of this instead of using UBER or Bolt will decrease both your carbon footprint and spending drastically.

In the end, all of these are adjustments when you first begin, but make a huge difference in the long run. And like with everything, education and self-awareness is key. Doing your own research to educate yourself, and others close to you, on sustainability is the best way to incorporate it into your life.